Just wanted to comment on blabs remarks. Thank you for seeing, if not agreeing with, my point of view. I have certainly (and im not claiming you said i have) not taken a stance of "never" when it comes to ofa/pennhip. My dogs hips have been xrayed by my vet, whom i trust wholeheartedly. I am simply not confident enough in the procedure to put my dogs breeding standing, in the hands of someone i do not know. With that said, thanks for your comments.

I just want to touch on the comment made about myself having my 10 year old daughter handle a working dog. When my daughter expressed interest in the working dog world (shes always been a dog lover) I as a father want to nurture her desire. Both of my older children have been in the bite suit, at appropriate ages. Steph, the 10 year old (now 12) obviously couldnt wear the suit. She asked about handeling a dog. Now I looked at this responsibly, as Ive seen her do obedience before and actually handle the dog better than myself, and decided to let her try. My reasoning was this, I train protection dogs, I have them in my house. They are in the home to protect, so I want my whole family to grasp the level of what the dogs are about. What better way than a hands on. She respects the dogs abilities, she respects that its not something that she can "show off to her friends", and shes very good at it. I dont look at it as a dog that bites being handled by a ten year old. I look at it as a dog good enough to respond to , and respect a ten year old. Just had to get that out.

First off, I have no idea about web cams. Hope you found a good one! Secondly, as Demo said it's America and ultimately it's Sis's decision and her decision alone.

However, I'm very, very disappointed in you Sis. I've always known you to be a very direct and upfront person and I'm disappointed that you didn't have the balls to just post what you were going to do. You've known for over a month and now, guess what? Someone outed you and now you're feeling attacked.

Boo-fucking-hoo.

If you had been upfront with all of us (that you said feel like family to you), yes there would have been some upset people and hurt feelings but now it's much worse. Now you have to deal with people feeling like you were being sneaky and dishonest (even if that wasn't your intention) and well, that's all your own fault.

That said, I hope this all works out and you get the results that you're clearly looking for. Give some love and tummy scritches to Teeny from me.

~Jeanine

You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

How can you say a breed isn't prone to such and such illnesses so testing for them isn't really necessary?NOT testing is exactly how breeds BECOME prone to such and such illnesses.only by breeding dogs who you know are not likely to pass on any genetic defects can you keep a breed from becoming prone to diseases.

the fact that you state the breeding would have taken place no matter what the testing showed..well all respect is lost right there

and hiding it from a board shows that somewhere in the back of your mind you know what you did really wasn't ok. it's out in the open here now but still hidden on other boards

your litter certainly isn't the first litter to be posted on PBT, quite a few people have posted in the past about litters and not get reamed but people know they did the right thing.

amazincc wrote:Will the person who has NEVER kept something private from a board they belong to PLEASE raise his or her hand???

I would LOVE to meet this perfect specimen.

Not perfect at all.

But we all know exactly how gossipy the message boards are. You can't possibly expect to post something on one and have it stay private. If you want it really and truly private then don't post it on the interwebs.

~Jeanine

You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

Alyssas business is just that - hers. She didn't post here first for a reason... mainly because this forum is very rescue-oriented, and not so much breeder-enthusiastic.

And you are absolutely correct w/your statement -

If you had been upfront with all of us (that you said feel like family to you), yes there would have been some upset people and hurt feelings but now it's much worse.

Now it's much worse because peoples feelings were hurt since they weren't among the first to know.I think that is what all the backlash is all about... not so much about the actual breeding itself.Alyssa has never made a secret out of Teeny possibly having a litter some day. Otherwise Teeny-Beans would've been spayed a long time ago.

Sis has been a good friend to me for over two years. I will continue to be hers. I also happen to think that breeding Teeny is not the end of the world as we know it.I'm actually excited for Alyssa, because she is doing something she loves and is committed to. I will never associate her w/byb, or think of her as a puppy peddler.

I know none of Teenys pups will end up as sad statistics, and I absolutely don't have a problem with her decision.

That's exactly why I rarely post anything personal on the forums. Admittedly, my life is boring as hell and I have nothing to hide, but what's done is done. I don't see any point in continuing to bash Sis.

Alyssa has the right to tell whomever she wants about her personal life whether ppl like it or not. If she didnt want to share it here thats her decision and she shouldnt be getting flack for that. Get a thicker skin ppl.

I do think that it is possible for the right people to effectively evaluate a dog's temperament to a good degree, and certainly a dog's external structure can be evaluated accurately. Teeny may well prove to be exactly what has been stated, a well bred dog who will be able to compete at high level, able to withstand the mental and physical rigors that come w/that kind of competition. The kind of animal that will be an excellent foundation for the breed's future generation. In my opinion, you are just taking the breed a step backwards when incorporating a dog w/sub-par hips. I've been involved with bull breeds for 17 years. I've owned, bred, and x-rayed APBT's, amstaffs, American Bulldogs, and Olde English Bulldogges. As a result, I've seen a lot of dysplasia (not to mention demodex, entropion, cardiac issues and weak temperaments). Sadly, I've produced dogs with most of those conditions as well. I've never owned an Alapaha, but have been aware of them since Lana Lou Lane was extolling their uniqueness and superiority. Personally, I don't know of a bull breed that is free from genetically based health issues.Even if the Alapaha is somehow free of health issues, you now know that Teeny has poor hips. How is incorporating her in a breeding program going to help the breed? IMO, it's just one more aspect you need to work around in the future, having to wash out otherwise excellent dogs because of this potentially crippling genetic defect. I recently had a conversation w/David Leavitt, the creator of the Olde, about the future of the breed. Because hip screening was not used as a criterion when establishing the breed, dysplasia is a huge issue now. I am not saying the Alapaha's hips are as bad as Oldes, I'm sure they are on average, much better. Just that when looking long term, hips should be a major consideration, particularly in a working breed.

Opinions aside, I wish a quick, healthy delivery and a happy, healthy life for Teeny, and her puppies. Now that everything's started, let's just hope for the best and move on with it. I'm sure Alyssa and the daddy's owner will do their best to make sure the puppies have long-term homes and fulfilling lives.